Piled High in Tejas~!: March 2006

Pete The Party Penguin & Momma?!

Pete is cool.

Pete is an 85 lb solid concrete work of art that was given to me as a Christmas present in Edmonton by my youngest brother, Jim, about 12 years ago. I wondered why Jim had that wicked grin on his face before I opened the box. And after I opened it, I thought Jim was really going to pay for this... even though I thought it was a tres cool gift!

Luckily, I had taken my ski boots & bag there that year to ski over the holidays with my long lost friend Myles the Merchant. That's how I got Pete home... I left my boots behind for a later trip and lugged him home in my boot bag as carry-on.

Do you know what it's like trying to nonchalently carry 85 lbs of concrete through an airport, on to a plane and into an overhead bin without looking like you are dragging a sack of bricks? Do you know what it's like putting said bag through the x-ray machine (this is still '94 mind you) and simply telling the Calgary Airport security guys that "It's OK, it's just a concrete penguin." 'Nuff said.

According to Pete's sculptor-father, Pete is the juxtaposition of the human party spirit and the animal complacency in all of us... yes, you too!

Pete has the requisite Lacoste alligator logo on his polo shirt, except for Pete it's a fish. Pete has gold tinted shades, a butch surfer cut, and -- if you could see his feet -- flip-flops on his webbed toes.

Pete is cool.

When he was moved out of storage from my old house, after we moved in here, Pete got a position of royalty at the corner of the kitchen. He surveys down at the dining/living area, ensuring that dweebs, film industry geeks and failed curlers stay away from the premises.

As you can clearly see, Momma has discovered Pete... for quite a while now! Janine and I are not quite sure what to make of it all.

All I can say is "Cool runnings, Pete."

Can't Stand The Rain... On My Window...

With apologies to Robert Cray for bastardizing his lyric.

Thank goodness that the new casa stayed high and dry. We had 7.30 inches of rain between 5pm Saturday and 7pm Sunday!

West Lawther at Goforth... White Rock Park is a lake.

Goforth at Eagle.

White Rock Trail at White Rock Trail Park. Alzheimers home is on the right.

Real Life Simpsons

The Simpson's are a hoot and this is amazing! And, it certainly calls for a beer today, it being St. Paddy's Day and me being Irish!

Video and Code Provided by Disloyal.org

What American City Are You?

I am New York, baby!

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the newest in food, art, and culture.
You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you.
You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed.

Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen

What American City Are You?

The Hardscaping of Our Yard is Complete!

And Redentas did a great job. The orange you see in the grass is corn gluten meal, an organic herbicide as well as a great fertilizer! I have been using it for years at the old house and always have a killer lawn in spring, way earlier than the "weed & feed" chemical kids. It's applied here in February-early March and again in September (to keep out the fall-winter weeds), and that timing is critical. It works by killing the roots of newly sprouting seeds. So, you don't want to lay it down and then overseed your lawn... a grand waste of time. It is truly amazing stuff and every serious yardcare person should ditch anything with "Scott's" on the bag and start feeding your soil critters with this stuff. Your grass and trees will thank you, as will Mother Earth.